Budget & Property Tax Request
Westside Community Schools
From The Superintendent
Monday September 16 at 6:00pm, the Board of Education will hold a Public Hearing regarding the 2019-20 budget and property tax request. In an effort to inform our community, the Board and I have put together this handout intended to help parents, residents, staff members and supporters of Westside Community Schools understand the factors involved. That handout is attached below for your reference.
Of note:
- Westside is the largest school district in Nebraska to not receive equalization aid. As a result, we are not funded like other metro districts and must rely more heavily on property taxes and option funding.
- Since 2013-14, Westside has had an average annual spending increase of just 0.475%.
- Westside’s 2019-20 enrollment is the highest it has been in four years, with 5,995 K-12 students.
- It will be our recommendation to lower our tax levy compared to the prior year for the first time since 2014.
- REDUCE our General Fund Levy by 1 penny to $1.1924
- DECREASE the Total Levy by .25 of a penny to $1.3824
We have also produced a video to help explain this process and our budget recommendation/property tax request for 2019-20. You can view it by scrolling to the bottom of this message.
All are welcome at the Monday, September 16 meeting. It begins at 6:00pm at the ABC Administration Building at 909 S. 76th St.
Thank you for your continued support of Westside Community Schools.
Dr. Mike Lucas
Superintendent